Follower items are absolutely useless...

I was personally just thinking along similar lines to the OP while theorizing interesting setups for my Enchantress. Personally I like using Maximus(and have been searching for a 4-5% blind/freeze/stun with loh) and then band of hollow whispers/bul-kathos wedding band/hellfire ring, not necessarily because they're useful, but it feels more interesting. And then I realized, there's no legendary follower items.

I think first and foremost, crowd control procs should be added to follower items, allowing you to get 4-5% on your amulet, 2handed weapon, and follower item might make for some unique variety and effectiveness. Also, in terms of Legendary follower items, simple things like wiz spike/storm crow/hellfire ring procs or other such effects to allow buffing/crowd control(burning axe of sankis - ignore pain, etc).

I agree with previous posts an interesting gem effect would be welcomed. I'm also one for allowing followers into group play. Way I see it is while we normally have a follower with us soloing(even if dps is negligable) with a flat increase to mob hp in parties, we could very well be less effective in a party because of the lack of followers while dealing with the same mob hp.

I'm also curious as to why with all of effort made towards 0 permenance gameplay the followers can't be respecced? Would gladly be corrected if I'm wrong on this one ;]

Overall Followers and their items need a buff. They need to be more useful, more powerful and feel like a team mate, rather than a door plug that you use to keep monsters in the other room.

Mine is wearing a poorly crafted Hellfire ring I made, it would be great if that giant fire ball actually did some damage, rather it blazing through a pack of monsters and doing not much damage at all.

love some of the ideas here. really like the idea of a shared set between followers and players. maybe have a ring or ammy that ether can ware, a follower specific item and a class specific item. also like the idea of special skills granted by gear, and getting more stats like movement or main stats from your follower. just like mf and gf. think if they let us fully gear them they might become op, and all 3 at one time might be the same. 2 seems like it would be easyer to ballance, but not if they also give players more stats. so if i could pic from one of these two it would be the stats.

What would be cool is if you stripped the stats off of the relics and instead gave them cool abilities or procs like a chance for the enchantress to do a room clearing AOE pulse like a wizard or for the templar to get a paladin-ish aura, something along that so the relics become more about customizing your favorite follower to compliment your build in fun ways instead of just boring follower only stat sticks.